Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques and skills, from a mixture of martial arts traditions and non-traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of both striking as well as grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground. Such competitions allow martial artists of different backgrounds to compete.
The ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP (UFC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in the United States that hosts numerous events worldwide. It is the most successful MMA promotion in the world with many of the sport's top fighters under contract. The UFC has five weight-divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC; Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control its parent company, ZUFFA, LLC.
Inspired by vale tudo tournaments in Brazil, the UFC and the sport of MMA have roots in the ancient Olympic combat sport of Pankration in 648 B.C. The UFC held its first competition in Denver, Colo. in 1993. Showcasing fighters of different disciplines—including boxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, wrestling and Muay That, among others and using any type of martial arts.—the UFC sought to identify the most effective martial art in a real fight. After a period of political backlash, the UFC gradually underwent reform by embracing stricter rules and achieving sanctioning with State Athletic Commissions.
With a cable-television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2010 has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. As of 2010 viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television, in the United States on SPIKE and VERSUS, in the United Kingdom and Ireland on ESPN, as well as in over 130 countries and 20 different languages worldwide.
Businessman Art Davie met Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pioneer Rorion Gracie in 1991, while researching martial arts for a marketing client. Gracie operated a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Torrance, Calif. and the Gracie family had a long history of vale tudo matches—a precursor of modern mixed martial arts—in Brazil. Davie became Gracie's student.
In 1992, inspired by the Gracies in Action video-series produced by the Gracies and featuring Gracie jiu-jitsu defeating various martial-arts masters, Davie proposed to Rorion Gracie and John Milius an eight-man, single-” tournament with a title of War of the Worlds. The tournament would feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art. it would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie had seen on the videos. Milius, a noted film director and screenwriter, as well as a Gracie student, agreed to be the event's creative director. Davie drafted the business plan and twenty-eight investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions with the intent to develop the tournament into a television franchise.
In 1993 WOW PROMOTIONS sought a television partner and approached pay-per-view producers TVKO (HBO), SET (SHOWTIME) and the Semaphore Entertainment Group SEMAPHORE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG—a pioneer in pay-per-view television which had produced such off-beat events as a mixed-gender tennis match between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova—became WOW's partner in May 1993. SEG contacted video and film art-director Jason Cusson to design the trademarked “Octagon”, a signature piece for the event. Cusson remained the Production Designer through UFC 27. SEG devised the name for the show as THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP.
VHS box art for the first Ultimate Fighting Championship WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later called UFC 1, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colo. on Nov. 12, 1993. Art Davie functioned as the show's booker and matchmaker. The television broadcast featured kickboxers Patrick Smith and Kevin Rosier, savate fighter Gerard Gordeau, karate expert Zane Frazier, shootfighter Ken Shamrock, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli, boxer Art Jimmerson and 175 lb. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Royce Gracie—younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie who was hand-picked by Rorion himself to represent his family in the competition. The show became an instant success, drawing 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view.
The show proposed to find an answer for sports fans to questions such as: “Can a wrestler beat a boxer?” As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and had little experience against opponents with different skills. Royce Gracie's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship.
However, the promoters did not intend for the event to become a precursor to a series. “That show was only supposed to be a one-off,” eventual UFC President Dana White said. “It did so well on pay-per-view they decided to do another, and another. Never in a million years did these guys think they were creating a sport.”
With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. For example, Keith “The Giant Killer” Hackney faced Emmanuel Yarborough at UFC 3 with a 9 in (23 cm) height and 400 pounds (180 kg) weight disadvantage. Many martial artists believed that technique could overcome these size disadvantages, and that a skilled fighter could use an opponent's size and strength against him. With the 175 lb (79 kg) Royce Gracie winning three of the first four events, the UFC quickly proved that size does not always determine the outcome of the fight.
During this early stage of the organization, the UFC would showcase a bevy of different styles and fighters. Aside from the aforementioned Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Patrick Smith, the competitions also featured competitors such as Kimo Leopoldo, Hall-of-Famer Dan Severn, Marco Ruas, Oleg Taktarov, Tank Abbott, Don Frye and Gary Goodridge.
In April 1995, following UFC 5 in Charlotte, N.C., Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions. Davie continued with SEG as the show's booker and matchmaker, as well as the commissioner of Ultimate Fighting, until December 1997.
Although UFC used the “There are no rules!” tagline in the early 1990s, the UFC did in fact operate with limited rules. There was no biting, no eye gouging, and the system frowned on (but allowed) techniques such as hair pulling, headbutting, groin strikes and fish-hooking.
Ken Shamrock, shown training U.S. Marines, was the first reigning UFC Champion to win the title in a non-tournament format. In fact, in a UFC 4 qualifying match, competitors Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger agreed not to pull hair—as they both wore pony tails tied back for the match. Additionally, that same event saw a matchup between Keith Hackney and Joe Son in which Hackney unleashed a series of groin shots against Son while on the ground.
The UFC had a reputation, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent event, as evidenced by a disclaimer in the beginning of the UFC 5 broadcast which warned audiences of the violent nature of the sport.
UFC 5 also introduced the first singles match, called “The Superfight.” This was an important development because singles matches would feature fighters who suffered no prior damage from a previous fight in the same event, unlike tournament matches. Singles matches would also become a staple in the UFC for years to come.
“The Superfight” began as a non-tournament match that would determine the first reigning UFC Champion for tournament winners to face; it later evolved into a match that could feature either title matches or non-title matches. The “Superfight” would eventually completely phase out tournament matches; by UFC Brazil, the UFC abandoned the tournament format for an entire card of singles matches (aside from a one time UFC Japan tournament featuring Japanese fighters). UFC 6 was the first event to feature the crowning of the first non-tournament UFC Champion, Ken Shamrock.
After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy when STATION CASINOS executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, and aerobics instructor Dana White approached them in 2001, with an offer to purchase the UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $2 million and created ZUFFA, LLC as the parent entity controlling the UFC.
With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta was a former member of the NSAC), ZUFFA secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television with UFC 33: Victory in Vegas featuring three championship bouts.
The UFC slowly, but steadily, rose in popularity after the ZUFFA purchase, due partly to greater advertising, corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view and subsequent home video and DVD releases.
With larger live gates at casino venues like the TRUMP TAJ MAHAL and the MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA, and pay-per-view buys beginning to return to levels enjoyed by the UFC prior to the political backlash in 1997, the UFC secured its first television deal with FOX SPORTS NET. THE BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW PERIOD aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 37. Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC, featuring one hour blocks of the UFC's greatest bouts.
At UFC 40, pay-per-view buys hit 150,000 for a card headlined by a grudge match between Tito Ortiz and UFC veteran Ken Shamrock, who had previously defected to professional wrestling in the WWF before returning to MMA. It was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced “underground” in 1997.
Despite the success, the UFC was still experiencing financial deficits. By 2004, ZUFFA had $34 million of losses since they purchased the UFC. Fighters who came into prominence after ZUFFA's takeover include B. J. Penn, Sean Sherk, Matt Serra, Ricco Rodriguez, Robbie Lawler, Frank Mir, Rich Franklin, Karo Parisyan, Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.
The Ultimate Fighter
Faced with the prospect of folding, the UFC stepped outside the bounds of pay-per-view and made a foray into television. After being featured in a reality television series, AMERICAN CASINO, and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers developed the idea of the UFC having its own reality series.
Their idea, THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER (TUF)—a reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition for a six-figure UFC contract, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches—was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. Not until they approached SPIKE TV, with an offer to pay the $10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet.
TUF alum Shonie Carter weighs-in for his fight with “The Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis. In January 2005, Spike TV launched TUF in the timeslot following WWE Raw. The show became an instant success, culminating with a notable season finale brawl featuring finalists Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar going toe-to-toe for the right to earn the six-figure contract, an event that Dana White credits for saving the UFC.
On the heels of the Griffin/Bonnar finale, a second season of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. SPIKE and the UFC continue to create and air new seasons.
Following the success of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER, SPIKE also picked up UFC UNLEASHED, an hour-long weekly show featuring select fights from previous events. SPIKE also signed on to broadcast live UFC FIGHT NIGHT, a series of fight events debuting in August 2005; Countdown specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards, and several other series and specials featuring and promoting the UFC and its fighters.
With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. UFC 52, the first event after the first season of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER which featured eventual UFC Hall of Famer Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell avenging his defeat to fellow future Hall of Famer Randy Couture, drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000, doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at UFC 40. Following the second season of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER, the UFC's much-hyped rubber match between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-perview buys at UFC 57.
For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie—featuring Royce Gracie's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for UFC 61 featuring the rematch between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, the coaches of The ULTIMATE FIGHTER 3. The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66, pitting Ortiz against Liddell with over 1 million buys.
The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner, former Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's campaign against no holds barred fighting, became a catalyst for the emergence of sanctioned mixed martial arts in the United States. Ratner continues to educate numerous athletic commissions to help raise the UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that have yet to sanction the sport.
In December 2006, ZUFFA acquired the northern California-based promotion WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING (WEC) in order to stop the INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE (IFL) from making a deal with VERSUS (TV channel). At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with SPIKE, so the purchase of the WEC allowed ZUFFA to block the IFL from VERSUS without violating their contract. The WEC showcases lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC features heavier weight classes. Notable fighters included Urijah Faber, Miguel Angel Tones, Mike Thomas Brown, Brian Bowles and Jose Aldo.
UFC's global expansion has taken it to the UK, as demonstrated in this billboard featuring Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout. The sport's popularity was also noticed by the sports betting community as BodogLife.com, an online gambling site, stated in July 2007 that in 2007 UFC would surpass boxing for the first time in terms of betting revenues. In fact, the UFC had already broken the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $222,766,000 in revenue in 2006, surpassing both WWE and boxing.
The UFC continued its rapid rise from near obscurity with Roger Huerta gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and Chuck Liddell on the front of ESPN The Magazine in May 2007.
UFC programming is now shown in 130 countries worldwide, and the UFC plans to continue expanding internationally, running shows regularly in Canada and the U.K., with an office established in the U.K. aimed to expand the European audience. UFC has also held events in Germany, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, while Afghanistan, China, Mexico and the Philippines are candidates for future events.
On Mar. 27, 2007, the UFC and their Japan-based rival the PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS announced an agreement in which the majority owners of the UFC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, would purchase the PRIDE brand.
The acquisition of PRIDE was perceived by UFC officials as a watershed moment for mixed martial arts. “This is really going to change the face of MMA,” Lorenzo Fertitta declared. “Literally creating a sport that could be as big around the world as football. I liken it somewhat to when the NFC and AFC came together to create the NFL.”
Initial intentions were for both organizations to be run separately but aligned together with plans to co-promote cards featuring the champions and top contenders from both organizations. However, Dana White felt that the PRIDE model wasn't sustainable and the organization would likely fold with many former PRIDE fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva and others already being realigned under the UFC brand. On Oct. 4, 2007, PRIDE WORLDWIDE closed its Japanese office, laying off 20 people who were working there since the closing of its parent company DREAM STAGE ENTERTAINMENT (DSE).
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, one of many stars to emerge after the UFC's acquisition of PRIDE and WFA, seen picking up Ricardo Arona for a rare knockout from a body slam at Pride Critical Countdown 2004In 2008, the UFC announced two major exclusive sponsorship deals with HARLEY-DAVIDSON and ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV, making the brewer's BUD LIGHT the official and exclusive beer sponsor of the UFC.
On Jun. 18, 2008, Lorenzo Fertitta accommodated the UFC's growth by announcing his resignation from STATION CASINOS in order to devote his energies to the international business development of ZUFFA, particularly the UFC. The move proved to be pivotal, as Fertitta helped strike TV deals in China, France, Mexico and Germany as well as open alternative revenue streams with a new UFC video game and UFC action figures, among other projects.
Popularity took another major surge in 2009 with UFC 100 and the 10 events preceding it including UFC 90, 91, 92, 94 and 98. UFC 100 was a massive success garnering 1.7 million buys under the drawing power of former NCAA wrestling champion and WWE star Brock Lesnar and his rematch with former Heavyweight champion Frank Mir, Canadian superstar Georges St-Pierre going head-to-head with Brazilian knockout artist Thiago Alves, and Pride legend Dan Henderson going against British middleweight Michael Bisping; rival coaches on THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: U.S.A. vs U.K.
Fighters exposed to the UFC audience—or who became prominent—in the post-Pride era include Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Quinton Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Mauricio Rua, Thiago Silva, Josh Koscheck, Nate Marquardt, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Junior dos Santos, Dan Hardy, Clay Guida, Sam Stout and Frank Edgar, among others.
MMA Video Games
UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED is a mixed martial arts video game featuring ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP properties and fighters developed by Yuke's Osaka and published by THQ. The game was released in the US on May 19, 2009, for the XBOX 360 and PLAYSTATION 3. It is the first game to be released under THQ's 2007 agreement with the UFC, and it is to be the first UFC game released since UFC: SUDDEN IMPACT in 2004. A playable demo of UFC 2009 was released onto Xbox Live and PLAYSTATION NETWORK on Apr. 23, 2009, and featured a tutorial and exhibition matchup between Chuck Liddell and Mauricio Rua.
UFC UNDISPUTED 2010 is a mixed martial arts video game featuring ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP properties and fighters developed by YUKE's and published by THQ. It was released on May 25, 2010, for the XBOX 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and for the first time PLAYSTATION PORTABLE. It is the second game to be released under THQ's 2007 agreement with the UFC and it is a sequel to the successful UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED. A teaser trailer of the game was shown on Dec. 12, 2009 at the 2009 SPIKE VIDEO GAME AWARDS, where UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED was named the Best Individual Sports Game, showing a first look at THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: HEAVYWEIGHTS contestant Kimbo Slice. The full roster was announced April 27 on GAMESPOT.
In an interview with ESPN, producer Neven Dravinski said that they made so many serious upgrades to the game that he cannot play UFC 2009 UNDISPUTED because the gameplay is so poor compared to UFC UNDISPUTED 2010.
UFC UNDISPUTED 2010 will also include multiple changes from the previous version, including:
Improved controls, including a redesign of clinch and ground grappling, as well as an improved career mode, starting in the WORLD FIGHTING ALLIANCE.
Changes to gameplay including usage of cage walls, TKO (cut and injury) finishes and the introduction of Karate, Greco-Roman wrestling and Sambo fighting styles.
Added MMA brands for clothing as well as the introduction of post-fight attire.
New arenas including GM Place, Centre Bell and The O2
In UNDISPUTED, players use the four face buttons on a controller to execute punches and kicks. Simple movements of the left thumbstick alter what type of strike is thrown, while the top left buttons determine where attacks land as well as their strength. The top right buttons allow players to block strikes.
The right thumbstick controls the clinch and grapple mechanics. Simple flicks let players grab onto an opponent, while combining this with the left trigger executes a takedown attempt. Once on the ground, players perform various right thumbstick motions (quarter- or half-circles) to gain an advantageous position to punish foes with punches or deliver a submission hold.
Developer YUKE'S has tweaked combat slightly inside the Octagon for more balanced battles. New grapple and submission moves have been added to mix up action on the ground. There's more activity against the walls of the cage, so the sides will rattle as players are slammed against it.
Perhaps most notable is a new defense mechanic called the Sway system. When players see a punch coming, they can now quickly dodge away and return with a counter attack. It makes fighting up close a bit more realistic. Last year, there was this back-and-forth where players move forward and back trying to bait an opponent before dashing in and countering. Now, fighters can remain close to an opponent and apply pressure while still evading oncoming strikes.
Players can choose between the expanded roster of over 120 fighters and compete in exhibitions, Title Mode or against other players online. But the real fun stems from creating a fighter and launching his career. After players custom build their fighter in Career Mode—choosing everything from fighting styles to tattoos—they will participate in amateur fights before moving up to the UFC ranks.
Training has been tweaked as well, requiring players to place as much focus on their pre-fight regimens as they do on the actual brawl. Players can improve their Strength, Speed and Cardio abilities through related tasks or engage in Sparring to bolster specific skills such as “Standing Strikes Offense” or “Submission Defense.” If players don't spar regularly, their skills will degrade over time.
New to training are the Camp Invites, opportunities for fighters to learn special strikes or submissions. After choosing a camp, players decide which move they want to learn, which is acquired by participating in drills and earning points. Players must perform all these pre-fight tasks while monitoring their fight conditioning and fatigue. However, I didn't notice many consequences for entering a fight overly tired or short on conditioning. My stamina remained relatively normal and my fighter didn't appear to lose energy more quickly. Also, the game could use optional drills for Strength, Speed and Cardio exercises to have greater control over how points are delegated.
On Jun. 1, 2009, ELECTRONIC ARTS announced that an all-new fighting title is in development under the EA Sports brand. EA SPORTS MMA will be available in 2010 on the XBOX 360 and PS3. According to Wikipedia.org, its Website does not reveal any facts about the gameplay or its release date, just one link to sign up for the EA SPORTS newsletter and another that directs people to EA Sport's MMA forum. This game will have many options to create the ultimate MMA experience.